Niall Horan - ‘Heaven’ review: a retro feel with modern twist

by Phil Arnold
in Reviews

Niall Horan needs little introduction! Since the establishment of his solo career, he has developed as a songwriter and an international personality in his own right. He cites some legendary artists as major influences on his music career, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles have all played a part in inspiring his creative work. You can really hear these in his latest releases. 

As a song, Heaven is, in its purest form, a song of dedication and appreciation to a partner. The lyrics take you on a positive journey of the initial stages in a relationship, where the world can’t affect how people feel for each other. The title of heaven describes the fireworks that can happen when we establish that initial connection and the likening it to heaven give you a sense of how well matched this couple is. 

The first few seconds of Niall Horan’s latest release took me a little by surprise! With close harmony vocals and synths pushing the sound through, we are greeted by a huge sound. This breaks and we’re welcomed to the main groove with a very acoustic sounding kick and snare beat. Throughout the song I was reminded frequently that Niall Horan has lots of musical influences, and you can hear these in Heaven. The melody line is filled with shorter phrases that create a flowing pattern, but still manage to fill in lots of lyrics to help shape the story of the song. The chorus is catchy, with a full sound. The whole production sounds different and fresh, there is a retro feel, yet with an incredibly modern twist, which is a difficult balance to achieve, but it has certainly been managed on this occasion. 

Phil Arnold
Author: Phil Arnold
Phil Arnold is a musician, producer and music reviewer from Devon, in the South West of England. Whilst not writing music reviews, Phil also writes and records under the name of Ugbrooke.